The trolls were massive, an ugly silvery color, with snow-white hair and skin that looked like leather. They were wearing furs, and I felt sorry for the number of animals that had given their lives to cover the butt-ugly creatures.
I wasn’t entirely sure what the best course of action was, but it occurred to me that if we could slash their ankles, it would make chasing us harder. I dove to one side, trying to duck past the nearest troll as I basically keyed his ankle with my sword. Thornhold followed me, slamming his hammer across the troll’s knees. I couldn’t see through the chaos, but I knew that Magdala and Brynn were on the other troll, and I thought Aisling was as well.
As I passed the troll, I suddenly realized that there was a third one behind him. I was staring at him, groin-level. And believe me, that was not a pretty sight. Apparently, trolls got excited when they were fighting, because the pole in this creature’s fur loincloth was big enough to prop up a circus tent.
“Whoa,” I said. “I do not need to see this!” I shouted as I tried to dart around him to attack from behind.
But the troll was quicker than he had any right to be. He swiveled, swinging his fist toward me. I darted to the side, rolling in the snow to come up in a crouch with my sword ready. He grazed me with his knuckles, but even that was forceful enough to knock me backward. I swung wide as I fell back on my butt, but barely managed to prick his hand.
The troll grunted, then let out a low growl that sounded like it was going to shake the mountainside loose. I had no idea what the others were doing at this point. If I took my eyes off my opponent, he’d be able to squash me in no time flat. I leapt to my feet again and nimbly darted to his other side. As he turned, I managed to swipe his knee, my blade biting through the fur, drawing blood.
“Gotcha!” However, I quickly realized I hadn’tgothim. I did make him bleed, but it wasn’t the fountain of blood I had hoped for. I scrambled further up the trail, hoping that no one was behind me. The last thing we needed was yet another troll bringing up the rear.
“Score!” Brynn’s voice echoed from further down the mountain. But I couldn’t see past my opponent to see the damage she had done.
I cautiously backed away as the troll took yet another step toward me. He looked angry, as angry as his brethren sounded. As he brought his massive fist back around, aiming for me again, I managed to leapfrog over it, and I swung, sweeping my blade at his wrist. I was aiming for the artery, but I missed my target. However, I managed to slice through his thumb, severing it. The massive digit fell to the ground, and a spurt of blood poured into the icy snow, the warmth of it melting into the frozen layer.
That move managed to capture his attention. The troll brought up his hand, roaring as he stared at the wound. He looked puzzled, as though he couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.
I took advantage of his puzzlement, racing forward to stab my sword directly toward his genitals. I couldn’t quite see where they were beneath the fur, but had a pretty good guess. And sure enough, the moment my blade pierced the fur, driving into the flesh beyond, the troll screeched, a good octave above what I thought he was capable of.
“Aim for their crotch!” I yelled as I jerked my sword back. It was bloody in the worst kind of way, but I didn’t let that deter me. Instead, I turned and swung the blade again, going for the knee this time. As the creature slowly doubled over as he tried to grab for his loins, I darted to the side and once again brought my sword down, this time aiming for the neck. If I could justconnect with the artery, I could permanently remove him from the gene pool.
As my blade touched the back of his neck, a thunderous rumble shook the path. I took a quick glance over my shoulder to see one of the other trolls toppling over to his side. Blood stained the snow, spreading out like flower petals, but I couldn’t let myself be distracted. I swung back to my opponent, realizing that my blade had stuck in the thick of one of his neck rolls. I yanked, then yanked harder, finally detaching it from the troll.
“Thank gods!” Brynn shouted.
Keeping my attention right where it belonged, I focused on my own fight, but Thornhold let out a massive swing, his hammer busting the troll’s kneecap. A moment later, the troll tumbled my way. Panicking, I dodged out of the path, barely managing to avoid being flattened by the living meat mallet. The troll fell face first right where I had been standing, and blood spread out from beneath him, its burgundy wine color staining the crystal white surface. Panting, I leaned against the side wall.
One glance at the other two creatures showed that we had almost won. The last troll was still on his feet, but he was bleeding and staggering from side to side. I switched out my sword for my bow and, with one well-aimed arrow, shot through the back of the troll’s neck. He staggered once again, then began to fall forward, landing at the feet of Alina, Reggie, and Ray. We had managed it. All three trolls were dead.
CHAPTER 59: WHAT SPARKLES DO WE HAVE HERE?
“Well, that was delightful,”I said, wiping my sword off in the snow to clean off the blood. I noticed that Rupert and Aisling were poking around the snow-covered rock walls. “What are they looking for?”
Grimacing, Magdala poked one of the trolls with her boot. “The lair. Most mountain trolls are found higher up in the peaks, but they seldom stray far from their lairs. And where you have mountain trolls, you’re going to have treasure.” She pointed to the opposite wall. “Check there. Usually the entrances are cloaked by either illusions or actual snowfall. They usually have secret entrances, but we don’t have time to stick around and look for them. So we look for the most obvious entrance.”
We spread out in front of the opposite rock wall. As we poked our hands through the layer of snow covering the rocks, I wondered how frequent trolls were along the pass. But Thornhold beat me to the question.
“How often do you find trolls this far down?” He asked.
“Not all that often, but now and then a couple of them take it into their minds to greet the oncoming travelers. It’s moredangerous for them, but it also means easier hunting.” Aisling grimaced.
“We haven’t got much experience with mountain trolls,” Brynn said. “Do they eat people? Or just kill them?”
“There’s nothing a mountain troll loves better than a nice juicy human,” Alina said. “We pack more meat on us than most of the animals up here, so it makes sense that we’re their favorite prey.”
My stomach lurched. The thought of being on a rotisserie stick was enough to make me lose my breakfast, but I held on as I turned my attention back to hunting for the entrance to the troll’s cavern. About ten minutes into our search, Rupert let out a shout.
“I think I found it!” he said, brushing away a layer of snow to reveal a black void. Aisling quickly joined him and began to brush away the snow covering the cavern. The entrance was a good nine feet tall and looked dark as ink inside. The trolls would have to bend to get inside, but they’d be able to manage it.
“How does the snow cover it over like that? I think it would pile up in a thicker drift?” The snow seemed to cover the entrance like a veil, a thin cloak to shield the opening from unwelcome eyes.
“Trolls have a rudimentary form of magic,” Magdala said. “Mostly it concerns stealth and secrecy. I’m not sure how, but they’re able to direct the way the snow covers the entrance to their lairs. Somebody fire up a light.”
I thought about turning on the flashlight on my watch, but I didn’t want to explain what our watches were to Magdala and her family. Instead, I let them take the lead. A moment later, Rupert was holding a torch and leading the way into the lair. Aisling followed him, and I volunteered to go with them. Thornhold insisted on joining us. Everybody else stayed outside.
“Are there anymore trolls in here?” I whispered.
